How Many Licks Does It Take To Make It CG?

Are ad agencies so deprived of original thinking that the best they can do is recycle a forty-year-old soundtrack, and remake it shot-by-shot in CG?

What does this new version offer that the original didn’t? Less charm? Check. Uglier character designs? Check. Blander animation? Check. Fussy over-detailed backgrounds that overwhelm the characters? Check.

Computer animation is a wonderful tool. It’s a shame that more artists aren’t using it to explore new ideas which aren’t possible by other means, and instead use to incompetently replicate existing techniques.(Thanks, Andrew Ebert)

UPDATE: In the interest of equal time, Ezra from LucidCircus, the production company responsible for the CG spot, made a comment below about the studio’s work. Here’s some of what he says:

I appreciate the critiques but itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s about a year too late. The style and overall look and feel were dictated to us. The agency folk in the room understand. What you see isnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t the original design but the final approved version. In a nutshell I was asked to copy Over the Hedge. We didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have creative license. This isnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t art, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a commercial. The client got what the client wanted. I feel your pain. I hate all CGI remakes as well. But itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a good portfolio piece and the general public approves.